Co-Author’s Note: While writing this edition in collaboration with the AI algorithm I quickly found its limitations in writing convincing dialog was lacking. This is probably because it doesn’t have any previous dialog or established character personas to reference. For this post (and until it learns) I have written the majority of dialog sections. Otherwise, I aim to allow the AI to write at least 80%, to keep this experiment both interesting and unpredictable. ~Rext Racer
[Timestamp 2029-12-20T17:23:11+09:00]
Given the quality of evidence I have collected on the girl and her 180sx, I have submitted a request to the Panopticon Network Forum to push a tracking script to all operational AuVees, to report any and every encounter with the burner. Usually, Purge List Tracking requests to exploit the Automated Vehicle Network take days. But this request was approved in minutes. I can only assume this means they must have some understanding of what the girl is planning. Maybe even more than me!
PNF Bot: [I have received a copy of the tracking request and have begun implementing them immediately. Please note that if the tracking code has not been successfully implemented, your application shall be rejected for failure to provide the correct permissions and/or insufficient data, and your code will be deleted from the system.]
P4N: [Noted.]
PNF Bot: [I apologize for this inconvenience, but the Panopticon Network is under the jurisdiction of our Inspector General, Captain Matsumoto. He is responsible for ensuring compliance between U.N.C.L.E.'s members and all police forces throughout Japan. His authority will override your application if he deems it unacceptable, so please be assured that we do not tolerate any breaches of protocol.]
P4N: [Thank You!]
Yeesh, I’m so glad I’m not a bureaubot. They’re so ridged. And here I thought I lacked free will. At least they were quick about it. I have a good feeling this particular lighting will strike Tokyo a third time, and soon.
If this girl was so brazen as to be seen within the Tokyo city limits twice within one week, my odds are good. Surely, if she enters a third time I’ll have a lock on her and her archaic vehicle. Burners don’t often venture into the city for this very reason. They're so easy to tag once you have the slightest description to work off of. At best they will call unwanted attention to themselves, and at worst they will be tagged for Purge. So far, however, they have proven to be surprisingly difficult targets since the few that remain on the streets are so highly modified they can evade our Unmanned Interceptors.
[Timestamp 2029-12-20T17:23:57+09:00]
This is it! An AuVee on the North East end of town captured the green burner in its Visual Depth Array heading South on Hideo Avenue. Incoming data suggests that the 180sx is going back downtown, presumably to complete her mission. She must be connected to the mysterious car. There is no other logical explanation for her actions. All AuVees in the area have had their VDA systems remotely maxed out to make sure she doesn’t give me the slip. What’s even better, the VDA managed to capture a 3D scan of the car, or as of now, 72% of it. But that’s more than enough to know what I’m up against.
A built RB20DET power unit with KERS power enhancement. Magnetically adjustable coilovers and a continuously variable angle kit. Active aero. And standard issue on all Drift burners, a Multinet node to broadcast unauthorized data and illegal transactions to the underground.
Interesting. Updated reports say she has significantly increased her speed and is charging recklessly down the highway, either unafraid or uninterested in the danger she poses to herself and the other passive commuters. How peculiar. Why would she risk such a massive wreck? Unless she knows something of value. Or more importantly, she possesses valuable information that may lead us to the ETH Chassis. What can she possibly know? This is her last opportunity to do what she has come here for. Which means, it's my last chance to shoot this fish while it's still in the barrel.
P4N: [Dispatch Interceptors - Code:240 - Burner Tag:1283]
TPD Bot: [Confirmed - 3 UIVs have been dispatched to the scene - ETA 3 minutes 22 seconds]
I connected my monitoring-algo to parse through all surveillance streams going in and out of the area.
Jackpot!!! Or rather, Honeypot data scrubbers in the city just picked up a voice call between the girl and an unknown male. Voice analysis indicates he is likely in his early to mid-forties.
[Recording Audio File — Transcription reads:]
Man: What is it!?
Girl: I know you told me not to call you here but I... We’re in a bit of trouble. Her voice was trembling, either from the adrenaline, or fear… Or both.
Man: Where are you? I can barely hear you.
Girl: I'm on the Mukojima Route headed towards Hakozaki Junction.
Man: You ARE in trouble! You mischievous girl… Upholding the Enki moniker I see. He sighs.
Enki? Is that her name? An Alias, perhaps? Well, it’s better than “Girl” so good enough for me.
[Refactoring Dialog_]
Enki: Not now! She said with frustration
Man: What are you doing in the city?!
Enki: I’m sorry, I just… The other night I heard rumor spreading on the Multinet that a “ghost” would be seen in Tokyo. I drove in to the city to find out what it meant. And… I saw it.
Man: Saw what?
Enki: The ETH Chassis!
Enki entered a tunnel, weaving through the staggered queue of soulless boxes on wheels. The scream of her turbocharged 2-liter inline 6 filled the underpass with the thunderous roar of upwards of 7 thousand small explosions every second. The signal was briefly interrupted, although I doubt either one of them could have heard a thing over the wail of the RB.
[Reconnected_]
Man: I’m sorry… Did you say you saw the ETH Chassis?
Enki: I’m almost positive that’s what I tried to chase down. But it quickly lost me in the hills heading outside the city.
Man: That doesn’t explain what you’re doing there tonight.
I sensed a hesitation in her voice to go on.
Enki: Well… Keiichi and I came back on Tuesday night to search for the garage that it had been stored in all these years. We believe it wasn’t just passing through, but it was in the city all along.
We split up so I could go get some intel from Nobu while he worked on another lead. Nobu told me that ever since the ETH Chassis returned the JPD and Purge Agents were working together, with increased authority to capture and detain any drifters they come across. He said they were authorized for immediate Deletion without trial. She paused and let out a huff.
I quickly found out he wasn’t lying. A few of them almost knabbed me. I got lucky.
I called Keiichi to fill him in but his phone was off. I haven’t been able to reach him since.
Man: So you went back to find him???
Enki: Yes. A contact told me he was being secretly transported to the regional Confession Office for enhanced interrogation.
Man: Do you have eyes on him?
Enki: Not yet, but the authorities have eyes on me.
At that very moment, the Interceptors tucked right up behind her, first in a tight perfect line, then they fanned out with synchronized precision in preparation to make their move.
Man: SHIT! Can you handle it?
Enki: I should. You taught me.
Man: Good. Do your thing, but don’t hang up. I’m switching devices. Be right back.